Preston North End takeover: What’s actually going on? | OneFootball

FLW looks at the latest surrounding a takeover at Preston North End

Preston North End are set to begin their 12th consecutive campaign in the Championship in August, but could they be doing so with fresh investment?

The Lilywhites finished in the lower mid-table once again last season, despite an opening half of the year which gave encouragement that they could challenge for a play-off place.

In the end, a 2026 record which saw Paul Heckingbottom's side win just six of their 22 Championship games led to them sinking down the table and settling for a 14th-placed finish.

However, the ongoing calendar year brought about some off-field distractions at Deepdale. Indeed, on January 24, Sky News reported that Preston were in talks with US-born Saudi businessman, Amr Zedan, over possible investment into the club.

The Lilywhites responded to that news a couple of days later, with non-executive chairman Ian Penrose confirming that they had discussions with Zedan, but insisted that the Hemmings family was still committed to investing £13 million into what they stated was their "most expensively assembled squad in [their] history".

Over five months on, however, there's been no white smoke surrounding a takeover, despite pre-season beginning in a matter of days.

Preston North End takeover latest

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Preston CEO Peter Ridsdale confirmed in early February that there was no significant progress in the takeover.

There has been no communication over the summer, so things have been left to journalists outside the club to report and speculate over what the future holds for the ownership at Deepdale.

Alan Nixon reported in early April that talks were at an advanced stage, after the aforementioned Zedan was spotted in the Deepdale crowd for the Lilywhites' Easter Monday draw against QPR. Nixon would then give an update in May, stating that an agreement is still being worked towards.

There's some speculation that the new Independent Football Regulator's legislation, which oversees new owners coming into clubs that replaced the EFL's Owners and Directors tests in May, could have slowed things down, with ratification getting stricter under the new rules.

But, as the summer goes on and as the transfer window continues, there's a need for clarity sooner rather than later, as Preston face being left behind by some of their peers, especially with the added incentive for mid-table sides to spend, following the expansion of the play-offs to six teams.

There's a worry that staying still could lead to regression, and the last thing that Preston need is a relegation before anything is confirmed, as that would lower the attraction of coming in and taking over.

Preston North End fans remain hopeful that things are moving along behind the scenes

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Sometimes, silence can communicate several different things. In this case, there's hope that a lack of communication indicates that things are moving on behind the scenes, and the next announcement could be of fresh investment from Amr Zedan being confirmed.

Preston activated their buy option for Alfie Devine this summer, and reports are stating that the fee is around the £6 million mark, which is nearly triple the Lilywhites' transfer record.

Some fans are optimistic that such a significant fee likely wouldn't have been inserted, nor activated, if there wasn't the hope that the investment would be there to act on it this summer. If they're able to, it would be a massive statement of intent to the rest of the league.

Devine is coming off a breakout year on loan at Deepdale from Tottenham Hotspur, registering 14 goal involvements and being near ever-present in Paul Heckingbottom's side. For a club that doesn't have too many saleable assets, bringing in a 21-year-old with plenty of top-flight potential would be a sign of change at Preston.

However, the exclusivity for PNE to close a deal for the Spurs midfielder ran out on June 30, meaning it's now open season for other clubs to get involved, and that could see the club back to square one in their bid to try and land his services.